KARACHI: The Sindh government on Friday ordered a probe into the death of 41 children who reportedly died of pneumonia and malnutrition in a stretch of the Thar desert.

Officials were alarmed by media reports from Mithi, one of the least developed and most remote districts in Sindh province, suggesting that more than 100 people had died because of famine and malnutrition.

"It is a very serious matter and we have deputed a senior member of the party and officials to probe into the deaths," Syed Qaim Ali Shah, the chief minister of Sindh, told reporters.

Qaim Ali Shah also ordered the arrest of senior health officials for neglecting their duties, saying they had failed to move the children to hospitals in the bigger cities.

He said the cause of the deaths would be confirmed by the investigation but apparently pneumonia and malnutrition were among the reasons.

The chief minister said the government records showed the death of 41 children but there were fears that the actual number may be higher.

The Thar desert begins around 300 kilometres (200 miles) from Karachi and runs up to the border with India, where it joins the Rajasthan desert.

Poor health and communication infrastructure keeps the district disconnected from mainstream population.

The chief minister admitted the authorities had not done all they could to look after the needs of the people.

"I admit that the distribution of wheat was not appropriate," Shah said.

In 2000, the desert suffered a famine that killed 90 percent of the livestock, the economic mainstay of the area.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has taken notice of the food shortage in Tharparkar and directed the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to provide immediate assistance.

According to an official notification, the prime minister has directed the NDMA to immediately contact authorities in Sindh and ensure all necessary measures are taken.

Reports states 121 children have died of pneumonia and malnutrition in the Thar desert.

The Sindh government has ordered a probe and the arrest of senior health officials for neglecting their duties.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s former top judge Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has written a letter to Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani to take suo moto notice in order to enforce fundamental rights of the people of Thar.

The Thar desert begins around 300 kilometres (200 miles) from Karachi and runs up to the border with India, where it joins the Rajasthan desert.

Poor health and communication infrastructure keeps the district disconnected from mainstream population.

In 2000, the desert suffered a famine that killed 90 percent of the livestock, the economic mainstay of the area.

Nearly 121 have died during a drought in Tharparkar in three months, according to the Mithi taluka hospital. While the Sindh government has only confirmed roughly half that number of fatalities, 32 children died in the month of February alone in the area, due to malnutrition. The district has four other talukas, with over 2,000 villages spread across the largest desert region in the country. The effects of drought in these areas are not properly known.

Surgeon Dr Jaur Kumar said 23 deaths had been registered at the Mithi taluka hospital, citing various causes in addition to food deficiency. According to sources, 38 children died of malnutrition in the Mithi taluka hospital in December 2013, and there were 42 deaths in January, 36 in February; there have been five deaths in March thus far. Local representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO) are reluctant to share their findings and WHO’s Dr Nasrullah Thebo and Dr Nisar refused to comment on the deaths. These figures are not officially accepted and Dr Kumar, who publicly accepted that 23 deaths had been registered in February, was suspended by the chief minister for failing to cope with the situation.

The flurry among government officials and the sudden visit of chief minister Sindh Qaim Ali Shah on Thursday to take stock of the situation indicates its severity. “I came here after watching the media reports,” the CM said. “Some 60 children have died in the last two months due to pneumonia and other illnesses,” added Shah, who visited the hospital and inaugurated a subsidized wheat distribution programme.

The provincial government usually declares a state of drought in Thar by September or October when there is low rainfall during and after the monsoon season. However, with moderate to low rainfall occurring until late September last year, the government pushed the announcement forward and provision of relief was thus delayed.

Deputy Commissioner Makhdoom Aqeeluz Zaman admitted that there is a problem to contend with, but deflected responsibility from his administration, saying, “We have seen statistics in the past which show that such incidents happen during droughts.”

According to sources, local administration and health officials described the situation as ‘normal during drought’ while briefing the chief minister. “We expected that the CM would announce a special package and compensation for families whose children have died but he did not even mention how long the subsidized wheat distribution programme will continue,” an official who was at the meeting told The Express Tribune.

As many as 60,000 wheat bags, 25 kilograms each, are slated for distribution in the district. Usually this process starts in November or December and continues for at least three months until spring. Speaking with the media, the chief minister said more wheat would be supplied in case of a shortfall, but did not specify a timeframe for the distribution. Additionally, the district administration owes Rs60 million to transporters responsible for ferrying wheat across the desert region and a local activist pointed out that distribution will not commence until these dues from 2012 and previous years are cleared. “The quantity of wheat to be distributed is too little and too late,” he added. The chief minister said he has taken notice of the transporters’ complaints and said the problem would be addressed.

Locals have seen the numbers of cattle, camels and peacocks whittled down during the drought this year. The chief minister has suspended local livestock officials for their failure to control the situation. Additionally, to the chagrin of the Tharis, Shah has also imposed a ban on the sale of cattle from Thar to other districts for a period of 15 days in view of the deteriorating health of the animals.

Additionally, Pakistan Peoples Party Patron-In-Chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has directed the Sindh government to launch relief operations in the Thar desert immediately and called for a Special Relief Committee to monitor the situation. Speaking with his Advisor on Minority Affairs Surendar Valasai, who belongs to Thar, he expressed his concern over the deaths of 32 children and said he will take the issue up with Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah.

THARPARKAR: The people of Tharparkar, including children, continued to suffer from severe shortage of food, as piles of wheat allocated by the Sindh government for them is rotting in storage houses of the Provincial Food Department.

In the wake of drought in Tharparker, the Sindh government had declared the district of dry lands as calamity-stricken.

Life in Tharpaker – one of the most undeveloped and poverty-hit parts of Sindh – mostly depends on unpredictable drops of water that shower from the sky in the form of rain. The availability of food for both people and livestock primarily hinges on natural rain.

Low amount of rains in the past two years in this part of the province has caused severe drought in the region.

Many poor and under-nourished children are dying of a wide variety of diseases. A total of 121 kids brought to a public hospital in Mithi have so far lost their lives. According to DHO Tharparker, Dr. Abdul Jalil Bhurgari 32 children expired in just one month which is a highly disturbing figure.

Sindh government had on January 31 supplied 60,000 bags of wheat for free distribution among the drought-stricken local residents. But, till today, the wheat continues to remain locked in the storage facilities of the Sindh Food Department.

The shortage of food after devouring the animals has now started to take its toll on the human life while the poverty-stricken people still look up to the government in hope and anticipation.

The transporters are not ready to shift the wheat to the area. They are demanding from the government to first clear their outstanding dues amounting to Rs60 million.

On the above situation, Sindh Minister for Food, Jam Mehtab Dehar says he did not want to pin the blame of children’s death on anybody.

It is appalling that in the modern age, around 40 children have reportedly died in Sindh’s Tharparkar district due to malnutrition as a famine-like situation prevails in the remote desert region. It speaks volumes about the apathy of the state when it comes to the well-being of this country’s hapless population. Around 175,000 Thari families have left their homes due to the drought, heading towards other districts. Tharparkar’s reservoirs are nearly all dry and the shortage of food is critical. What is more, the health facilities in the region are very far from satisfactory. Large numbers of livestock have also perished due to the severe climatic conditions. If reports are to be believed, it is media coverage that has finally prompted the Sindh government’s machinery to swing into action in response to the unfolding disaster. PPP head Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has ordered the provincial administration to launch relief efforts, while the Sindh chief minister has initiated a probe into the children’s deaths. Yet all this seems to be a case of too little, too late. For example, 60,000 wheat bags promised to Thar’s people by the Sindh administration have not yet arrived, while observers say even this quantity of food is insufficient to meet the people’s needs.

It is not as if the phenomenon of drought in Thar has come out of the blue; the region experiences drought every two to three years. Yet planning ahead for such extreme climatic conditions is obviously not part of the state’s priorities. The PPP remained in power for five years in Sindh and retained the provincial administration in last year’s general election. It is hard to believe the party’s provincial and national lawmakers from Thar were not aware of the situation on the ground. Or is it that death and dislocation caused by predictable natural disasters is accepted as ‘normal’? The displaced Thari families, as well as residents still in the area, need the full support of the state until the situation stabilises. This includes proper access to food, water and shelter. If money is a problem, the federal government or donors need to be approached. Equally important is the need to learn from this debacle and ensure such a catastrophe does not recur.

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ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Pervaiz Rashid on Sunday said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had cancelled important engagements and would visit Tharparkar on Monday to meet drought-affected people.

Talking to news channels, he said Thar was part of the country and the federal government considered it an utmost duty to provide relief and rescue for the people of the area.

He said National Disaster Management Authority and Pakistan Army were already providing assistance to the affected people.

He said the prime minister took immediate notice when the tragedy came to the fore.

To a question, the minister said the federal government would assist the Sindh government and would not do politics on the issue.

On a query, Senator Pervaiz Rashid said dialogue with Taliban was the priority of the federal government and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had also been included in the committee.

Responding to a question, the minister said he had no information regarding the opening of a Taliban office.

REPORTS in the media during the past few days about a virtual famine in Tharparkar, about a sharp increase in deaths, especially of children due to malnutrition or negligence, and about desperate outward migration of residents have caused justified widespread concern and prompted governmental, judicial, civil and military responses.

While conditions certainly deserve alleviation, the doom-like scenario misrepresents a substantial part of reality.

First: severe adversity affects parts of the population and the region, not the entire area and all residents. Tharparkar is spread over 22,000 square kilometres with a population of about 1.5 million residing in 2,300 villages and urban settlements. Divided into six talukas — Mithi, Islamkot, Chachro, Dihly, Diplo and Nagarparkar — the area often receives varying levels of rainfall or none at all.

Last year, Nagarparkar taluka received plentiful rain. Crops have been cultivated in over 336,000 acres and are adequate to sustain an average tehsil population of about 212,000.

Agricultural productivity in places like Kasbo can be so high that, currently, after meeting local needs, onions from Tharparkar are being trucked all the way to Gujranwala, Punjab. No case of starvation or even of severe malnutrition has been reported in the whole taluka, and even in some others.

There was scattered, uneven rainfall in the other five talukas. Several tens of thousands are definitely affected by farming water scarcity. But this is a recurrent, periodic feature of life.

People residing in small villages in the rural “baraari” parts cope by seasonal outward migration to the barrage-irrigated parts of Sindh to serve as farm labour.

At this very time, in the normal course, such migration begins: to harvest the imminently ripe wheat crop in the weeks ahead. Thus, ongoing migration is not necessarily linked to suddenly impactful drought.

Second: apart from farming, livestock-related income is a major source of livelihood. Of about six million animals comprising cattle, sheep, camels, goats, about half a million sheep are estimated to be victims of sheep pox or other ailments.

Blanket vaccination of all animals is the best protection against fatal epidemics.

But with only 11 veterinary doctors on duty out of a sanctioned number of only 17 posts and other paucity of resources in the 135 vet units across a large region, comprehensive vaccination was not conducted in 2013, causing loss of some, but not the majority of the livestock population which continues to support the human population.

Third: the livelihoods of a large number of residents come from shop retailing, small- and medium-scale trade, construction, transport, several services, and employment in the government and non-governmental sectors.

Thus, all are not dependent entirely on rain-based crops or livestock-related incomes, though drought does impact in some ways on other spheres.

Fourth: negligence, apathy, corruption, avoidable shortages and poor governance are far bigger ‘killers’ than drought and famine. In cases of a sharp increase in infant and child mortality in the Mithi Civil Hospital, all or some of the above appear to be the main causes. Prompt diagnosis in the recurring morbidity pattern such as of diarrhoea, malnutrition, under-nourishment (as distinct from outright starvation), pneumonia, etc; quick referral to specialists, and sustained treatment with both drug and non-drug therapies could swiftly contain and reduce mortalities.

The inadequacy dimension is typified by the fact that in the Nagarparkar taluka hospital, out of the 32 sanctioned posts for doctors, only four are presently staffed. Non-governmental health centres strive to redress such gross imbalances.

Of the total of 139 governmental health units in Tharparkar, 31 BHUs and 102 dispensaries administered by the stricter-accountability measures of the PPHI intervention will hopefully also correct deficiencies elsewhere, albeit on a limited scale.

Fifth: post-2000, the awkward, inconvenient truth is that, particularly during the regime of retired General Pervez Musharraf and former chief minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim, the physical infrastructure of Tharparkar reached an unprecedented level of progress.

Where, for example, in previous times, only about two kilometres of metalled road was built in a whole year, roads of the same length and more were built every month, and in even less time, for several years.

Grid electricity to main towns, water pipelines to large settlements, preparatory infrastructure for exploitation of coal reserves including work by the post-2008 PPP government, rapid proliferation of telecommunication and mobile phones have vastly enhanced mobility, access and information flow.

This transformative change remains ignored by the media which prefer stereotypical bad news.

Sixth: there is a need for immediate relief for large numbers in some parts. But the priorities should be the efficiency, integrity and quality of relief delivery, rather than quantum alone.

Corrupt practices in relief delivery often provide more benefits to the few rather than succour for the many. Several non-governmental organisations, with their limited resources, contribute to the relief work.

Without reducing the urgency of alleviating current suffering, the far more vital subjects requiring purposeful action by legislators, public office-holders and officials is non-partisan accountability and improved governance.

The media too need to curtail their sensationalist, under-researched outpourings while remaining vigilant. The candid self-criticism of Sindh’s chief minister is a helpful step forward.

Hakim Bey: Don't just survive while waiting for someone's revolution to clear your head
Napoleon Bonaparte: The world suffers a lot, not because of the violence of bad people, but because of the silence of good people!

Imagine when the real drought will hit Pakistan when all of the water held back by India will kill Pakistanis. And they will kill themselves for a drop of water out of desperation.
Not only that but my personal opinion is the cold fresh water will highly needed to cool down the Pakistani atomic nuclear plants.
Everyone knows and remembers Tjernobyl if it happens in Pakistan then people will suffer.

But Pakistan is already being bombed back to stoneage, then why cant the bloody politicians and sell outs pull the trigger by bombing their own people with atomoc bombs?!
The rich elite does not care of its poor deprieved and enslaved people.
They do not have the same basic humanrights, theyre not equal and will never share the same line as the rich elite!
If people beneath them become enlighted and work a decent living or income then they will not do the dirty jobs of the rich bloody elite who have to do it all by themselves, which they dont want to.

Why cant Pakistanis demolish the parliament, senate, GHQ, prime minister house, governor houses, police stations, law courts when its all made for rich influential mafias, elite, politicians, high levelled military officials and children who call their mummy daddy for the slightest problem they run into.

There is no rule , law and order, no need having the juridiciary system!
social injustice, e.g one side defence, DHA Bahria town and social socities and the other side is, wel they can just live under harsh conditions, and can sodd off so long they dont ask for help from people inside those areas.

Because its a reality of the egocentric, i am better than you and dominant than you mindset.

So who; why, what and when can be said for these people who are affected by the drought. Its only temporarily help they will receive as pappa sheefa is more intrested in feeding his swin.e bloody sperm inbreeded pathetic incompetent manhoos zaleel children. Just like rest of politicians high levelled military officials and rich elite.
All spinned up in a big web of nepotism sifarish corrupt networks! Thinking of their dirty impure inbreeded pedigree dog children, impure families and bank accounts.

Surely the country has become a kanjri made by the idiots running the dancing naked country.
And without no doubt the country has gone down the drain

Peace

Ps i am sorry for insulting anyone , do even press the report button but i am bloody sick and tired of the politicians who all need to be hanged. Its all abput time everyone just kills one anothee openly untill everyone agrees there is no end and need to solve the matter just like in Rwanda!

Once my hero and lovely Umar Ibn Khattab (Allah Bless him) sat and ate among people. He gave the fresh bread to them and ate a half old bread himself as he stated the people have first priority to cherish from their own tax money which he didnt want to eat from as he didnt want to be held accountable for taking from Baitul Maal!!

MIRPURKHAS: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday announced Rs one billion in aid for the affectees of the famine-hit Tharparkar region, DawnNews reported.

Nawaz Sharif was given a briefing in Mithi over the drought and famine condition in Thar.

The briefing was also attended by Information Minister Pervez Rashid, patron-in-chief of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah, former provincial chief minister belonging to the district Arbab Ghulam Rahim, provincial Information Minister Sharjeel Memon and other senior members of the PPP.

During the briefing Sharif announced an aid of Rs one billion for the province adding that the federal and Punjab government were ready to provide further assistance.

He said steps should be taken to avoid a similar situation from occurring in the future adding that if the situation in Thar and Cholistan was the same then how come there was no famine in Cholistan.

Facilities should be provided at the people’s doorsteps using mobile health units, the premier added.

Moreover, Sharif also said that CM Sindh should take serious notice of the incident and while taking action punish those responsible for negligence.

Qaim Ali Shah, while briefing the prime minister, said that the district had been declared as calamity-hit and the commissioner and deputy commissioner, who were responsible for the situation, were had already been removed from their positions.

He further said that a committee had been formed to ensure the transparent and equal distribution of relief among the affectees.

The provincial information minister said during the briefing that the deaths in the region had not occurred due to famine only rather there were other water-related issues and illnesses which claimed the lives of several persons.

Memon also admitted that 80 per cent areas of Tharparkar district were famine-affected.

Another PPP leader said that the Sindh govt had accepted the Rs 100 million in aid provided by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government

Prior to arriving in Mithi, the prime minister had reached Mirpurkhas where he was welcomed by the chief minister Sindh.

The prime minister upon his arrival had taken notice of the problems faced by people of Thar’s Mithi area due to security measures taken before his visit.

The premier in his statement issued to media said that hospitals must remain open for patients and they should have access to all areas.

Meanwhile, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also visited a hospital in Mithi today and inquired after the people affected by the calamity.

The premier was later on accompanied by Bilawal Bhutto and the duo visited the Civil Hospital Mithi.

After the visit to the hospital, the prime minister left for the Army Camp and he would also meet up with locals of the area.

Moreover, the premier along with Bilawal Bhutto and Qaim Ali shah were present in the briefing given by officials on the situation caused by drought and the progress of relief work.

The Deputy Commissioner Tharparker in a briefing said the Sindh government had distributed 1,25,000 wheat bags among the residents of six talukas of Thar.

He mentioned that 2030 bags had so far been distributed in Mithi while 1,030 had been given away in Islamkot.

He further said the wheat can be obtained from the help centres by showing identity card adding that Rs 0.2 million would be distributed among the families of the deceased.

The prime minister was apprised that out of the 4.5 million of livestock, sheep was the most affected animal.

The Deputy Commissioner added the 15 mobile teams were reaching out to the families of Tharparker to vaccinate the livestock particularly sheep.

A day earlier, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Pervaiz Rashid had said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had cancelled important engagements and would visit Tharparkar today to meet drought-affected people.

Poor health and communication infrastructure keeps the district disconnected from mainstream population.

In 2000, the desert suffered a famine that killed 90 percent of the livestock, the economic mainstay of the area.

Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani had summoned top officials to the Supreme Court in Islamabad on Monday and said the country should “should hang down our heads with shame” over the conditions that led up to the deaths and the failure of government to prevent them.

Mumtaz Ali Shah, the home secretary for Sindh province where the desert lies earlier told the court: “At least 62 children died, mostly because of unusual cold weather leading to outbreak of pneumonia and poor medical facilities during last three months in Thar.”

Meanwhile, the province's advocate general Fateh Malik said the situation was not as bad as had been portrayed by the media, claiming disasters were the norm in the impoverished area.

Moreover, the Supreme Court affixed responsibility of the incident on the Sindh government while instructing it to submit a plan of action for the improvement of the situation.

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Army has decided to donate a day’s food ration to the drought-hit people of Thar desert in Sindh as the relief activities intensified on the directives of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday.

According to Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) spokesman, the ration would be delivered at the doorstep of every affected family in each village of Tharparker. The ration would be sufficient for 15 days for the family.

Most areas of Sindh province’s Tharparkar district are facing a famine-like situation and at least 32 malnourished children are reported to have died. About 175,000 families are reported to have been affected and some of them have been forced to leave their homes and move to barrage areas.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah chaired a high-level meeting earlier today to identify the reasons of delay in the distribution of aid to Thar. He asked Sindh Chief Secretary, Chaudhry Mohammad Aijaz, to submit a report within three days affixing responsibility on institutions and individuals for the situation.

Pakistani armed forces have also increased number of medical camps from six to nine in Mithi, Islamkot, Diplo, Virawah, Nagarparkar, Chachro and Khinser. Mobile medical and food supply teams have also reached far flung areas of Danahi, Majhniti and Goths of Chachro.

Army medical teams including lady doctors and child specialists are working and have treated 7,139 patients during last three days. 240 tons of rations have been distributed so far as well, said the spokesman.

He informed that senior military officials are constantly supervising the relief activities.

LAHORE: Dashing opener Ahmed Shehzad becomes the first cricketer to offer his financial assistance in shape of donating fee of one match to famine-hit people of Thar.

The young cricketer while talking to media on Tuesday at the National Cricket Academy also said that he believed the current national team could easily match up to the standard of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis’ eras.

Talking about the Thar disaster, the enthusiastic 22-year-old cricketer said: “I want to help those who are struggling.

I want to donate fee of one match to famine-stricken people of Thar district besides endorsements from my equipment and all my Man-of-the-Match awards if I succeed to get in the upcoming World T20.”

“This country has given us a lot and now it is our duty to pay back. We should realise that those who are in trouble deserve to be helped by those who are well-off,” said Shehzad.

Stating that people should come forward to helping famine-hit people, he said: “We have to work together to deal with such situations.”

To a question, Shehzad said a fund-raising cricket match should also be organised for the noble cause, adding that in the past cricket played a great role in such kind of situations.

Regarding the upcoming World T20, he said the national team were in a perfect shape to do wonders in the tournament.

Praising the national side for the recent performances, the veteran of 45 ODIs and 22 T20 Internationals claimed: “The current team could once again become a formidable side like that used to be in times of Waqar and Wasim.”

To a question about Pakistan win against India in the Asia Cup and their next face-off with archrivals India in the World T20 on March 21, Shehzad said that the team management and boys were not focusing just on one match as they seek to achieve top position in the world ranking.

“To become World No.1, we have to beat every team including India. So, we are considering every match very important.”

He admitted that the pool Pakistan were drawn into was a tough one as Australia, West Indies besides India were also included in the group. Nonetheless, he said margin of favour was less for every team and Pakistan had to play solid cricket to win all matches.

“Every player understands his role. Our team are competitive in both ODI and T20 formats but the need of the hour is that we soon master the art of executing the game plan well on a given day,” Shehzad stated.

Regarding security fears amid Dhaka unrest, he said security was tight but he along with his team-mates focussed on cricket and enjoyed it.

KARACHI: Sindh Minister for Information, Archives and Local Government Sharjeel Inam Memon on Monday said only the PPP government was carrying out relief and rehabilitation operation in the drought-hit Thar desert.

He regretted that not a single penny, from the sum of money announced by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for relief and rehabilitation in Tharparkar, was received as yet and the silence of the media over this negligence was meaningful.

Speaking to reporters after attending the Sindh Assembly session, he revealed that Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah would on Tuesday expose hands behind what he called “planned conspiracy against the provincial government” regarding unrealistic magnification of drought and death of children in Tharparkar district.

“It was very sad that children had become victims in Thar but the conspiracy that was hatched against the Sindh government on the pretext of those deaths would be fully foiled,” said the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader.

The Sindh government had already constituted a committee, which reviewed all related matters in this context, he added.

“The statistics in form of a report was submitted to the Prime Minister by federal and provincial health departments, which disclosed that a million children die before they reach the age of five each year.”

“According to that report, 600 children die each day in 150 districts of Pakistan but the local media had only created hype on deaths of children in Tharparkar,” lamented the minister.

He regretted that not a single penny, from the sum of money announced by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for relief and rehabilitation in Tharparkar, was received as yet and the silence of the media over this negligence was meaningful.

Nonetheless, the minister said Sindh government had since day one been active in taking care of the people of Tharparkar and the chief minister had been to Tharparkar for 6 times while cabinet ministers and members of National and Provincial Assemblies from PPP remained present in Tharparkar to carry out relief and rehabilitation works, which was still being continued.

“On ground relief activities and mere lip service were things of opposite nature and could not be placed under one similar category of action,” said Memon in a veiled reference to PM Sharif’s announcement of Rs1bn to the drought-affected in Tharparkar.

Commenting on a statement of the premier comparing droughts in Thar and Cholistan wherein he had stated that situation like in Tharparkar had never been anywhere, the Sindh minister said that more than 90 per cent of population in Cholistan had migrated to other areas due to worst drought in the area.

However, migration from Tharparkar could not go beyond just 20 per cent, he said adding that the media was turning a blind eye on the situation in Cholistan.

Hakim Bey: Don't just survive while waiting for someone's revolution to clear your head
Napoleon Bonaparte: The world suffers a lot, not because of the violence of bad people, but because of the silence of good people!

Villagers lead livestock from the drought-hit Tharparkar district on March 11, 2014. –Photo by AFP

As death and disease continue to stalk the people of Tharparkar, one thing has become increasingly clear – that unless the indigenous people make lifestyle adjustments in the face of climate change, the delicate balance of desert life will be lost forever.

With the desert getting hotter and rainfall unlikely to improve, stress on resources (water and grazing ground) due to increased human and animal population will exacerbate.

Signs of the changing weather pattern have already begun to show.

Take Ramjee for instance. Till a few months back, he was one of the more prosperous herdsmen of his village of Prah, in Diplo, one of the six talukas (others being Mithi, Islamkot, Dihly, Nagarparkar and Chahchro) of the Tharparkar district. He had as many as 80 to 90 sheep, but save for a dozen or so, all died of sheep pox last month. "When I saw the signs of sickness, I got all my sheep vaccinated," he said.

But it was too late; the disease had taken its toll.

According to the official 2006 livestock census, Tharparkar had 4.6 million big and small animals. But Dr Jhaman Doongrani, research officer at the Central veterinary Diagnostic sub-centre in Mithi, states the figure today could have reached an estimated six million.

For such a large animal population, according to Doongrani, there should be a veterinary hospital in each of the six talukas; a veterinary dispensary each in the 63 union councils, a vaccinator each in the 250 dehs.

Instead, what we have is just 18 dispensaries of which only 11 are working and two vaccinators in the entire Tharparkar district.

The vaccination costs Rs 1 and Rs 2 for every small and big animal (although since the onset of drought, the government is vaccinating all animals for free).

"Usually a vaccination schedule is announced through radio and repeated," said Musawir Ahmed of Radio Pakistan, but Doongrani conceded the awareness is still very low and fewer people get their livestock inoculated. Ramjee said he never did.

Often these radio announcements fail to reach the very remote villages. In Ramjee's villages they are unable to catch the radio signal.

"While it's become easier to spread the word through cell phones, the proper way would be for the mobile vaccinators to go door-to-door and raise awareness about vaccination for disease prevention, as well as vaccinating the animals," said Doongrani, adding,

What's the point of getting their animals vaccinated when they are already sick?

"People need to be made aware that it is prudent to keep fewer but healthier livestock than sick and weak. They need to be told when to vaccinate their animals and how," said Bharumal Amrani, a native of Tharparkar, who works with the Society for Protection and Conservation of Environment (SCOPE), a non-governmental organisation.

–Photo by Malika Abbas

Amrani has seen unprecedented damage of the desert and how gowchers (community grazing lands), which were earlier protected by the community have been degraded and encroached upon for agricultural use. "While livestock production has multiplied, there is less forage for the animals now," he said.

SCOPE has been working in Tharparkar on dryland management issues including combating desertification, since 2003.

In addition, said Amrani, increased use of fuel has resulted in chopping up of valuable trees like Rohrio and Kaandi by the locals. "These trees were never used for firewood, only in the construction of houses, that too sparingly," he said adding: "During famine, one Kaandi tree can feed four goats."

He lamented the loss of the old order and how traditional wisdom has not been passed on. "I remember the strict social system that was observed for protection of the environment. If people cut trees unnecessarily, a panchayat would be held and a social boycott would be observed, but nobody cares now."

But along with training in livestock management, experts believe local communities will have to adopt innovative and improved agriculture practices and water conservation techniques. In the long run, they warn, they may have to seek alternatives to agriculture for their livelihood.

Soon Ramjee and several male members of his village (comprising between 40 to 45 households) all from the Bheel community, will begin their annual trek towards the barrage areas. This migration coincides with the wheat harvesting season there. The Barrage area is that part of Sindh where farming is carried out by the irrigation system. However, the nomadic tribes also migrate when the harvesting of rice begins. If not as farmhands, they are sure to find work as daily wage earners, at roadside restaurants, or as labourers in factories, etc.

"They will now return when rainy season begins in June or July," said Amrani. Over time, due to increased scarcity of food and fodder entire families have left with their livestock, but they always return.

Interestingly, villagers of Bandhlas, in Chachro, also in the grip of drought, stopped migrating to the barrage area some seven years ago. This is because they have learnt to conserve and manage the rainwater. Today, they are far more food secure and less dependent on the erratic and infrequent rainfall to irrigate their land.

"In 2004, we helped them dig several wells around their land. These were 60 feet deep and they found water at 35 feet which is still easy for them to pull," pointed out Amrani.

"If one dries up, we use the next and then the next. When it rains, the water in all the wells is recharged," says Jorio Bhuro, picking at his few remaining teeth, sitting under a tree, looking around contentedly. He also had 15 goats of which five died due to disease last month. Like Ramjee, he did not find it necessary to get them vaccinated.

There are eight families living in the village of Bandhlas and altogether they have less than five acres of land that they cultivate. SCOPE also helped them in improved kitchen garden practices.

"We grow spinach, onions, aubergines that we eat ourselves and we sell our fruit – lemons, cheeku, pomegranate, beir and papaya," added Jani Myno, another villager. One patch of land is kept for growing grass and trees to be used as fodder. The species grown is not just highly palatable but also more nutritious.

While their meal is simple and they only eat twice a day, it more wholesome and nutritious from the earlier fare of chapati dipped in chutney (made of chillies) and downed with lassi, to having it with cooked vegetables now.

Amrani found that sharing the virtues of natural resource management and an initial hand-holding was all that was needed to stem malnourishment.

"We have supported 50 other villages in kitchen farming and now they are on their own. In addition, there are 15 villages which have replicated these and used other improved agricultural techniques after seeing our model," he said.

In addition, SCOPE also holds informal awareness raising talks about how weather pattern affects crops and how to cope with it; what climate change is; the benefits of good quality seed, what a seed bank is and how to store seeds for better production; introduced drought tolerant and high yielding seeds of crops like millet and sorghum they were already growing and the techniques and usefulness of pitcher irrigation, drip irrigation and kitchen gardening techniques.

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The Tharparkar drought, which continues after claiming more than 200 lives of children by March this year, is again taking a toll on infants with 47 deaths reported in a month. Health authorities, however, dispute that these deaths are related to the drought and they also question the figure.

The mortality spiral in the desert region re-emerged after a lull of over two months as April brought scanty showers that lasted a few days, turning the weather pleasant. But the government’s relief distribution also ended in May.

“Deaths of children have continued in Thar,” said the Sindh High Court’s relief-inspecting civil judge Mian Fayaz Rabbani. The judge visited Mithi Civil Hospital on Tuesday when three newborns died in the hospital.

Five-month-old Shakila, daughter of Anwar Rahimo, also died in the hospital on Wednesday. Up to 18 of these recent deaths have reportedly occurred in July.

Currently, as many as 40 children are admitted in the paediatrics ward.

Talking to the local reporters, the judge also criticised the provincial government saying that it is not taking serious measures to address the situation. He said he brought several instances of corruption to the government’s notice but it did not take action against any of its officials. “A food inspector who was removed after he was found stealing wheat that was kept for distribution among drought-hit people has been made in charge of the same godown (warehouse) again.”

He said he wrote to the provincial government to take action against the food officials involved in wheat misappropriation but no action has been taken so far.

A total of 259,945 families were to be provided subsidized wheat bags of 50 kilograms each. However, widespread complaints about bags weighing much less than the announced weight and a large number of families being deprived of aid were reported during the distribution.

Meanwhile, some doctors claimed that the recent deaths have nothing to do with the drought. “Most of the infants who have died in the hospital were newborns. Hence, the media reports about malnutrition-related deaths are unfounded,” Dr Sahib Dino Janji, a paediatrician at the Mithi hospital, told The Express Tribune.

The children from across Tharparkar district are brought to his hospital for its better paediatric facilities as the health facilities in the affected area lack child specialists.

The huge district, which is spread over 20,000 square kilometres, has an estimated population of about 1.5 million people who live in scattered and far-off towns and villages. After declaring drought in Tharparkar in early March, the Sindh government announced that it would appoint doctors to fill vacancies and provide adequate health facilities in all parts of the district.

At the time, 181 posts of doctors were vacant in Tharparkar.

Health authorities transferred 27 doctors from different districts to the district in March but less than half of them joined duty. Subsequently, 52 new doctors were appointed on regular jobs with the government offering double the salary, accommodation and other incentives.

However, the newly appointed doctors say they have not been paid for three months, which is affecting their work.